Pakistan's Khan: India's Anti-Muslim Policies Will Trigger Refugee Crisis

One of the biggest refugee crises is about to take place because of recent actions by the Indian government, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned delegates Tuesday at the Global Refugee Forum.

Khan said India's revocaton of Kashmir's special status on Aug. 5 aims to change the demographics of the region from a Muslim-majority to a Muslim-minority state, which is likely to provoke a refugee crisis that will dwarf previous ones.

"I would like the world community to take notice of what is happening," Khan said. "We in Pakistan are not just worried that there will be a refugee crisis. We are worried that this could lead to a conflict, a conflict between two nuclear-armed countries."

Khan pointed to India's new Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam state as another flash point. Under this act, he said, Muslims must prove they are citizens of India or will be stripped of their nationality.

"Please understand the implications," Khan said. "There are 200 million Muslims in India. … If two or three percent of them cannot prove their citizenship, where will they go?"

Khan warned that the riots in opposition to the new legislation are likely to worsen, but said that Pakistan, which already hosts around three million Afghan refugees, cannot accommodate more.

Khan urged nations to pressure the Indian government to reverse its discriminatory policies against Muslims.